Sunday, December 23, 2012

In November the choice of U.S. President was all but decided. But the results don't become official until all of the Electoral votes are certified and counted. Last week Glenn Wiebe reminded me of that procedural fact. In the four minute video below viewers learn how the Electoral votes are counted and the role that the National Archives plays in the procedure.

On an related note, I still remember watching, as a college senior minoring in Political Science, Al Gore preside over the counting of these votes in 2000 and thinking how awkward that must have felt.

Applications for Education
Many of my students over the years have asked, "what if an Electoral doesn't honor the people's will?" This video provides the answer.

Last week I featured John Green's Crash Course on The Great Gatsby and literature in general. This evening I'd like to point out Green's equally good crash course in Ecology. Like his other crash courses the Ecology crash course is comprised of fast paced overviews of important points. Watching these videos won't replace the need for a good teacher, but they can certainly reinforce or introduce a topic. The playlist is embedded below.